Well thought I'd treat myself to a fun time at a real Roller Derby event featuring the Screw City Slammers (Girls in Pink and Black) and the Midwest Maulers (girls in red and black). It was a very interesting day at the event and I have to say these girls kick butt and then some. From what I've read they are self funded, non-profit, don't get paid to entertain us and they do this all to raise money for charities. It was difficult shooting, but well worth the risk of getting slammed by one of these girls as I was sitting in what they call the "suicide seats", which means I'm on the floor 5 feet from the rink. Here are my favorite pictures from the event and should all be taken with the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 at ISO 200-500. As ALways C&C is welcome and enjoy!





























No one was seriously hurt but just in case...

[Duh_Vinci]

Some very cool action shots in this series!

Regards,
D

[Nels]

That was fun to look at. I did not know anyone did this anymore. I understand it is for charity, but have not heard of roller derby in many years. Good shots and thanks for sharing.

[daacon]

Man roller derby that is a blast from the past. Nice shots Chris - I like the B&W looks authentic and could have been from the 60's. Glad you survived suicide ally

[silverbullet]

Great action. Looks like a really fun night. My favorites are #4 (that has to hurt!) and the B&W. I will echo what Dave said, the B&W could have been from the original roller derby era.

Chris

[blwnhr]

Unreal! What sort of settings were you using? Was that with the 50mm f1.4?

[codiac2600]

Some very cool action shots in this series!

Regards,
D

Thanks D!

That was fun to look at. I did not know anyone did this anymore. I understand it is for charity, but have not heard of roller derby in many years. Good shots and thanks for sharing.

To my understanding is that it's on the way back to mainstream and that in certain cities it's huge. Thank you!

Man roller derby that is a blast from the past. Nice shots Chris - I like the B&W looks authentic and could have been from the 60's. Glad you survived suicide ally

Thank you and the only reason that shot is B&W is because the shooter next to me and I both fired at exactly the same time and the double blast of flash overpowered and overexposed the shot so it was a way of saving the shot. I'm lucky actually because during 2 or 3 periods I had Roller Girls launched directly at me, but they are very skilled at dodging the fans.

Great action. Looks like a really fun night. My favorites are #4 (that has to hurt!) and the B&W. I will echo what Dave said, the B&W could have been from the original roller derby era.

Chris

Thanks Chris and yeah she took a little bit getting back up. Thank you and I'll play in PP with there shots and come up with some cool stuff and maybe repost some new shots.

Oh, one photog had a close encounter...

Nikon D200 with a fancy lens and decent flash; he walked in with that camera and the 300mm 2.8, which IMO is a little overkill.

[codiac2600]

Unreal! What sort of settings were you using? Was that with the 50mm f1.4?

It was the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 at 2.8 the whole time, ISO 200-500 and always in AF-C and auto focus point enables (it REALLY helps) and the shutter speed can vary from 1/4 to 1/160. I kept the shake reduction off because it seemed to make the panning a little more difficult, but I'm still young and can be pretty steady at times unless my sugar levels are too high from all the candy I eat lol.